Hospitality, Supermarket Assistant

John Lewis Partnership; Chester; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading UK employee-owned business, John Lewis Partnership, as a food service role focused on customer delight in a flexible environment. You'll prepare and serve meals, ensuring excellent customer service experiences while potentially working various shifts. Ideal for energetic individuals with relevant catering or hospitality backgrounds.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Employee ownership and commitment to well-being

Qualifications

• Experience in catering and/or hospitality recommended.
• Strong proactive and self-sufficient attitude required.
• Ability to work with open-food and maintain hygiene standards.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and serve food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Create positive experiences for customers through relationship-building.
• Ensure customers leave feeling valued.

Skills

Customer Service

Flexibility

Proactivity

Relationship Building

Energy

Education

Catering or Hospitality qualifications

Job description

About the role

Focusing on delighting our customers when they come into our shops means we need flexibility from all Partners, which might include early starts, late finishes, and weekend working. We give at least 2 weeks' notice to help you plan.

We have various flexible working options, so during your interview, feel free to discuss what flexibility means to you. While there are no guarantees, this may lead to not only a new role but also a new way of working.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Your main responsibility is to prepare and serve the food our customers enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. You will use your relationship-building skills to make recommendations and ensure customers have a positive experience. How customers perceive you will influence their view of Waitrose.

Job Requirements:

You should always put yourself in our customers' shoes, thinking quickly to provide a personal experience they love every time they visit Waitrose. Your energy, pace, and passion for food should shine through every day.

Required essential skills, experience, and qualifications:

This role involves working with open-food. For hygiene reasons, successful applicants must be non-nail biters. You should be proactive, self-sufficient, energetic, and committed to customer service — making sure every customer leaves feeling valued. Please include any Catering and/or Hospitality skills, qualifications, or experience in your application. We ask that candidates can fully commit to the advertised working hours; otherwise, we may not be able to proceed with your application. Note that we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

Please consider the following when applying:

• Vacancies may close early due to high application volume; apply early.
• Print the job description now if you need it for reference.

About The Partnership

We’re the largest employee-owned business in the UK, home to John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees; we’re Partners, committed to building a happier world. There’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We focus on retail excellence, innovation, and diversification. We uphold our promise of Price, Quality, and Service in John Lewis and passionately serve food lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners, we share ownership and responsibility for our success. We listen, contribute, and work together through challenges, always treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We foster an inclusive environment where everyone can be themselves and thrive, growing individually and collectively.

As Partners, we make a difference — and we all own it.

Important points to note:

Some roles may require pre-employment vetting, including DBS checks. If needed, you’ll be informed and given details during recruitment. Complete any vetting documents promptly to avoid delays. DBS checks will be conducted by a registered third-party body, and financial probity checks may also be required for certain roles.

We recommend applying early, as vacancies can close quickly if we receive many applications.

We support flexible working to promote work-life balance, including flexible or compressed hours, job sharing, or shorter contracts. Discuss these options with the hiring manager during your interview.